UFC Champion Ronda
Rousey and Fight Tribe Management are currently at odds over
the fighter’s representation contract.

According to Rousey’s attorney, Steven Bash of Bash &
Polyachenko, P.C., the fighter’s agreement with the sports
management company will not hold up under California law.

“As far as disagreements go, we don’t have any intention to
publicly litigate any dispute or air grievances or dirty laundry
about their relationship,” Bash told Sherdog.com on Wednesday. “The
only current issue is whether or not Fight Tribe can legally be
considered Ronda Rousey’s manager under well-established California
law, and we feel the answer will be no … Today, the fact is, that
[representation agreement] is voidable and null and not legally
enforceable. Once we get a determination, then we’ll go from there,
but that’s really what the issue is today.”

On March 7, Fight Tribe Management filed a petition for arbitration
in Los Angeles Superior Court, naming Rousey as the respondent and
seeking that the court appoint a neutral arbitrator to settle the
dispute. After obtaining a copy of the document, Sherdog attempted
to contact both Fight Tribe founder Darin Harvey and Fight Tribe’s
attorneys from Reed Smith LLP, but requests for comment were not
returned by Wednesday night.

While Bash said his involvement in the situation began last month,
he declined to specifically name the source of the friction between
the parties.

“Honestly, I’m still gathering a lot of facts, because my firm’s
involvement is strictly for this particular issue,” said Bash. “I
can’t really comment on the source of the friction. I can tell you
that there are multiple sources, but it’s still pretty premature to
discuss them, because the issue is one of legality, rather than
what I’m sure people want to hear, which is ‘What’s going on behind
the scenes to have caused this situation to occur?’ It’s premature
for that, and in my opinion, it’s not necessary. Maybe it all comes
out later in the future, but right now, like in any relationship
that comes to an end, there is an emotional component to it. So I
think it would be an unnecessary aspect of what is going on.”

Bash, who is representing Rousey in cooperation with his legal
partner, Alexander Polyachenko, believes that the matter will be
resolved under the supervision of the California State Athletic
Commission, rather than decided in Superior Court.

“There are very specific laws that govern MMA fighters, boxers, and
kickboxers under the California State Athletic Commission and the
California Business and Professions Code,” said Bash. “The problem
is that a third-party, private arbitrator is not the one that
decides these issues. It’s an arbitrator for the California State
Athletic Commission that decides disputes between managers and
fighters.”

Moving forward, Bash said that he and Polyachenko will now respond
to the filed petition, though he could not reveal exactly what the
next legal step will be.

“That’s a question I really can’t answer, because it’s really
strategic in nature,” said Bash. “I’d love to [offer] as much
information as I can, but litigating the case in public is not my
intention.”

Rousey, 27, made her mixed martial arts debut in 2011 after winning
a bronze medal in judo at the 2008 Olympics. “Rowdy” then excelled
in the cage, submitting each of her first seven opponents in the
first-round. The Californian won Strikeforce’s 135-pound
championship in 2012 and was then named the inaugural UFC titlist
to close out that year. Rousey has defended her UFC belt three
times thus far, most recently stopping Olympic silver medalist
Sara
McMann with a body shot last month at UFC 170.